Tag Archives: MN North: Sax-Zim Bog

Magical Birding Morning in Sax-Zim Bog (Barred Owl Hunting)

Year 13

I had not been on Admiral and McDavitt Roads since early December. While these are great birding roads, I tend to go elsewhere during the prime winter months and leave these two locations for the Bog’s visitors. However, over the past week I had noticed the number of eBird reports had dropped radically for Sax-Zim Bog, and I know from experience that most tour groups finish their visits to northern Minnesota by the last full week in February.

Jackpot! I spent 90 minutes on these two prime birding roads, and saw nary another person the entire time. I did have to deal with two snow plows but surprisingly even when the monster, loud trucks plowed within 15 yards of the the owl, it did not flush. I felt certain I would get some flights photos, and have about 20 images of two snow plows and an owl which seems to be thinking, what … me worry?!

Anyhow … from this morning!

Admiral Road:

  • Barred Owl
  • Gray Jays / Canada Jays
  • Pine Grosbeaks

Barred Owl … Hunting Movie (video link for email subscribers)

McDavitt Road:

  • Evening Grosbeaks

Highway 47: (The flight pic of the NHO is from an earlier birding excursion, but never processed. I have been watching this owl since right after Thanksgiving, and enjoyed two weeks with the bird before it was discovered by “the rest of the birding world”.)

  • Northern Hawk Owl

Now is a great time to visit the Bog. The feeders will remained filled for about two weeks, with the Welcome Center still being open. One may now enjoy the solitude, particulary during mid week like today.

Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center Birdsong Listening Station

Year 12

The BirdNET-Pi birdsong listening station at the Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center is now live, and the station ID’s birdsongs 24x7x365. You may easily listen along with the station! The web interface defaults to the most recent 24 hours, but with a tiny bit of effort you may select a custom time period … the prior 7 days, prior 30 days, etc. This listening device is just part of the initial phase of many, many units (some online and available to the public) which which will be deployed across northeastern Minnesota. I am the lead field techie guy for this effort! While cell phones will connect to the stations, I have personally found reasonably fast tablets and desktop computers / laptops work much better.

Here is the direct link to the Welcome Center’s Birdsong Listening Station. However, I recommend you browse to this webpage on my blog which includes links to five additional stations and detailed listening usage instructions including annotated screenshots.

This screenshot is from the other post. The stations are NOT linked below, but are linked via the other post.

Polka Power Bull Moose

Year 12,

I normally never listen to music or the radio while out birding, as I find it distracts me from finding my feathered friends, but on Saturday mornings I make an exception … because on KDAL Radio out of Duluth starting at 6 am for two hours, it’s the FunTime Polka Party! Imagine if you may this scenario … streaking through the pre-dawn darkness in your car while Hoop Dee Doo from Frankie Yankovic fills the Northland’s frigid winter stillness (video link for blog subscribers). One may also listen online.

Such was the case the last two Saturdays including when I saw this young bull moose in Sax-Zim Bog about 1/2 mile east of the highway 7 / 133 intersection on 133 … foraging south of the road in the recently logged area. Towards sunset yesterday evening I good friend of mine saw the moose in the same region.

The young bull moose (antlers already broken off)

And if you want the full, immersive experience, I pulled over in my car while on the way up to Greenwood one week ago … Polka Power Birding (and Moosing)(video link for blog email subscribers)